Unusual Features

Origin

Origin

Universe

Place of Birth

Creators

Contents

History

Little is known regarding the past of Dimitri Bukharin (Russian: Дмитрий Бухарин), save that he was a KGB agent during the Soviet regime in what was USSR. Bukharin was the fifth man to don the Crimson Dynamo armor, directed to do so by his superiors in the Soviet military.[1] The Dynamo joined and spied upon the newly-formed team of superhuman champions, called the Soviet Super-Soldiers. As the Crimson Dynamo, he adventured alongside Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major, until the three realized he was a spy and expelled him from their group.[2]

Even though the Soviet Super-Soldiers became renegade heroes, with no official ties to the State, they still worked on behalf of the Russian people when asked. Crimson Dynamo recruited the Soviet Super-Soldiers in a crusade against Magneto for the deaths of Russian soldiers aboard a submarine.[3]

Eventually, however, the Soviet Super-Soldiers were considered an embarrassment to the Russian government. The loyal Crimson Dynamo joined a new team of Supreme Soviets who were sent after the Super-Soldiers before they could defect to America, beating them into comas.[4]

For a time, Bukharin wore the armor as a solo operative for the Soviet government, and received a revamped suit of armor. This led Bukharin to clash the with armored American hero, Iron Man, who was on a crusade to eradicate weapon systems with technology similar to Iron Man's own, technology which the new Dynamo armor was comprised of.[5]

Soon, political strife in the downfall of the Soviet Union led to warring factions in the government. An ambitious officer named Valentin Shatalov wanted to claim the Crimson Dynamo identity for himself. In doing so, Bukharin was assigned a mission to revive the former Soviet agent, the Titanium Man, a mission that led to a destructive battle in America between the two. Framing the Crimson Dynamo as performing a rampage against America, the government relieved Bukharin of duty as the Dynamo, and Shatalov replaced him. The Soviet Union was no more, but the non-armored Bukharin was still a member of the Supreme Soviets, politically renamed the People's Protectorate. His superiors in the Protectorate's management gave him a new armor and a code name: Airstrike.[6]

Bukharin eventually retired as both Dynamo and Airstrike to become an administrator. Once the People's Protectorate merged with their rival squad Siberforce to become the Winter Guard, Bukharin became mission supervisor for the Guard.[7]

After several replacement Crimson Dynamos were killed or fired, Bukharin returned to the armor alongside the original Soviet Super-Soldiers as active members of the Winter Guard.[9]

Again as Crimson Dynamo, he and the Winter Guard tried to capture the Intelligencia, the group used the Zero Cannon on them, sending the team to space, but they still survived.[10]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

None

Abilities

Dimitri is a trained KGB agent, specializing in espionage.

Strength level

70 tons (As Crimson Dynamo); Unknown (as Airstrike)

Weaknesses

Without the armor, Bukharin possessed all of the conventional
vulnerabilities of any normal human.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Crimson Dynamo: The Crimson Dynamo stood at 6'10" and weighed 420 lbs. The armor granted Bukharin superhuman strength and protection from most forms of attack. Complete with a sensor array, radio transceiver and jammer equipment, rocket jets, and a one-hour air supply, the armor also possessed massive shoulder pads for ramming opponents and the ability to generate powerful destructive bolts of electricity. It was capable of flying up to 110 MPH. The armor was built from a Carborundum matrix alloy.

Airstrike: The Airstrike armor presumably offers similar strength, protection, and flight capabilities. Its offensive capabilities include conventional machine guns, missiles mounted on the back of the armor, and a powerful laser.

Notes

Some apparent miscommunications led to continuity errors surrounding Bukharin's role as the 5th Crimson Dynamo.

Bukharin was set to retire as the Crimson Dynamo pilot shortly after the Armor Wars, as his tour of duty came to an end.[5] Sure enough, a new man named Valentin Shalatov was the Crimson Dynamo when the armor next appeared.[11]

In Soviet Super Soldiers #1, Shalatov manipulated Bukharin into a politically disastrous mission in order to fire him as the Crimson Dynamo and claim the armor for himself. He was successful, becoming the 6th Crimson Dynamo by crook instead of Bukharin's natural retirement, as previously indicated, and Bukharin joined his teammates in the Supreme Soviets as Airstrike when they reformed as the People's Protectorate.

However, the Airstrike armor was never used in any missions, and Bukharin continued to appear with the Protectorate as the Crimson Dynamo[12][13], despite Shalatov also possessing the Dynamo armor and identity.[14]